Pete Alonso proves his worth again with 3 RBIs in Orioles’ win vs. Rays

It may come as consolation, but there can be no arguing that Pete Alonso has held his end of the bargain during his first season in Baltimore — and two plays, mere minutes apart, are emblematic of how that came to be.

The first was the sort of swing that was promised to be seen at Camden Yards for years when the Orioles signed Alonso to a five-year, $155 million contract over the winter. He belted a go-ahead two-run home run in the fifth inning off Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Freddy Peralta.

And in the top of the sixth inning, with speedster Chandler Simpson at the plate, Alonso showed a characteristic that has enabled him to become a star. He’s not worried about how something looks, so long as he makes the play. So he ranged to his right, then chugged toward first base and dove to tag the bag with his glove for the out right before Simpson arrived.

Glamorous or not — a casual home run trot or a dirt-covered dive — Alonso does it all for Baltimore.

“I really think it’s an honor and a blessing to put on a big league uniform every single day and go out there. So, for me, what other option? There is no other option,” Alonso said. “I just want to play hard, play winning baseball, and for me, I don’t care how it looks. I just want to get it done.”

He was the centerpiece of the Orioles’ 5-3 victory over the Rays on Friday, which snapped a four-game losing streak and began another American League East matchup with a better taste than this week’s sweep delivered by the New York Yankees.

The Orioles leaned on a quality start from left-hander Trevor Rogers, received a bit of good fortune on a check-swing call that went in Jackson Holliday’s favor and prompted Rays manager Kevin Cash’s ejection, and they continued a strong run against the Rays. Baltimore (62-67) has beaten Tampa Bay (76-52) in seven of the last eight games between the clubs.

It was Alonso, though, who captured the essence once again of why this free-agent signing has so quickly become revered in Baltimore. Of course, it has much to do with his offensive firepower, which includes a career-long 13-game hitting streak.

But it also has as much to do with Alonso’s willingness — scratch that, eagerness — to get his uniform dirty.

“At the end of the day, I just want to win games,” Alonso said. “Obviously, that can happen via the homer, but for me, whatever I can help produce and help put runs on the board and prevent them in the field, I don’t care, I just want to win. Whatever I can do offensively, defensively, running the bags, doing the little things right, I just want to win ballgames. That’s all it is.”

The Orioles haven’t won enough games this year, but it’s not because Alonso hasn’t carried his weight. After a slow start (he had a .668 on-base-plus-slugging percentage at the end of April), he has been a force. In August alone, he has a .380 average and 1.147 OPS.

“It takes a long time to have a good season. Sometimes you don’t see the fruits of your labor right away, and that’s where patience comes in. That’s where stubbornness comes in, when you have something you know that’s good for you, you just have to keep doing it and believing and knowing it’s going to work out,” Alonso said. “The best way I can describe it is eating protein and vegetables and doing all the right things for your health, and if you do that over a long period of time, you’ll see results.”

Within the first two pitches from Peralta, the Orioles took the lead. Holliday doubled to begin the game, and Alonso drove an RBI single on the next pitch.

Rogers, who otherwise was stoic through seven innings, ran into his only real trouble in the second inning.

The Rays scored three runs off him, with the first coming when Junior Caminero doubled and Simpson singled. Then Kenny Piper, a 28-year-old playing his second major league game, demolished a middle-middle fastball from Rogers for a two-run homer.

Apart from that, Rogers cruised. And he soon had a lead once more.

“They just did a really good job of getting solid wood on really good pitches, and I wasn’t going to change my approach,” Rogers said. “I was going to keep attacking the zone and mix it up as best I could.”

Dylan Beavers cut into the deficit by hitting his third home run in three games, and Peralta conceded three runs in the fifth. Alonso’s two-run homer was the largest blow, but Cash had reason to complain — and earned his ejection for it.

Holliday tried to stop his swing on an outside changeup. Had he gone, it would’ve been strike three. Holliday, in fact, thought he went around. He turned around and began walking to the dugout before he turned back because third-base umpire Dillon Wilson said he hadn’t offered.

Cash disagreed with that assessment and gave Wilson an earful. It proved costly. Holliday lifted the next pitch for a sacrifice fly, and then Alonso delivered the decisive blow.

“It’s so much fun, to be honest with you,” manager Craig Albernaz said of watching Alonso. “Obviously, that big blow was impressive, especially how hard he hit it, where he hit it and the pitch location.”

There is no knowing how the rest of Alonso’s contract will play out. But in his seven full seasons, excluding the shortened 2020 season, he has powered at least 30 homers. He has been a consistent, steady force in the majors. He became one of five players in MLB history to hit 30 or more in seven of his first eight seasons, joining Mark Teixeira, Eddie Mathews, Ralph Kiner and Albert Pujols (who did so in all eight), according to MLB.com.

And, while this Orioles season may not lead into October, Alonso, at least, is a reason to watch.

“He’s a top-notch individual, leader of men,” Rogers said. “But I think the best thing about him is you can go and talk to him about anything. All I can say is, I’m glad it’s not me pitching against him anymore and I can sit in the dugout and actually enjoy homers when he hits them. He’s a special player, a special human. I’m glad that he’s in this clubhouse, and he’s been playing some unbelievable baseball for us.”

This article has been updated.